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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. court — for sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. spring — of water
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spring — a coil
  9. degree — an amount
  10. march — the month
  11. court — of a king
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. degree — from a university
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. court — of law
  22. perch — the fish
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com